Open The Door
by King12345
Summary: Its romance cant tell you much without giving it way


Dawn, and the ships are leaving, a lover's grief is lifting on the  
  
tide. And hearts too young for sorrow, torn asunder. The cruel  
  
ocean's deep, and dark, and wide.   
  
Hi, my name's Rachel. That's all I can tell you. I can't tell you  
  
where I live, or my age, or even my last name. It's way too risky.  
  
You see, my friends and I all have to be careful. I mean, the Yeerks  
  
are out there. Everywhere.   
  
My cousin Tom is a Controller someone with a Yeerk in their  
  
head. So the Yeerks aren't as far away as you think. What's a  
  
Yeerk? An evil, parasitic slug that takes over your mind and  
  
controls everything. It's horrible. And the only people trying to  
  
stop them from totally invading Earth are a group of kids and one  
  
Andalite. Andalites are a good alien race that hate the Yeerks as  
  
much as us and maybe even beyond.   
  
The only good Andalite currently on Earth is Aximili, our friend.  
  
We call him Ax' for short. He helps us fight the Yeerks.   
  
Jake, my cousin and brother to Tom, is the leader of our small  
  
group. He's a perfect leader: strong, levelheaded, and serious.   
  
My best friend, Cassie, who is also part of our little group, has a  
  
crush on him and it's vice-versa! They don't really admit it  
  
though, although we all saw them kiss before.   
  
Jake's best friend is Marco, who is my own personal pain in the  
  
you-know-what. He tells the most stupidest jokes and then laughs  
  
at them himself like an idiot. And then there's Tobias.   
  
Tobias is a red-tailed hawk with the mind of a boy. He got trapped  
  
as a hawk awhile ago, but has the power to morph back to his old  
  
human self. I often wish that he would just stay in human morph,  
  
but he never really answers me. Just sort of avoids the question.  
  
That's pretty much the whole group of us Animorphs except for  
  
moi. I'm tall blond, and pretty reckless. Okay, that's enough said,  
  
let's get on with this.   
  
I was sitting in my room one sunny day after school doing my  
  
homework when I heard the doorbell ring. Probably just one of  
  
Jordan's friends, I thought. I continued doing my homework then I  
  
heard, "RAAACHEL!!! THERE'S SOMEONE HERE TO SEE  
  
YOU!!!"   
  
I sighed and put down my Geography book. I walked down the  
  
stairs into the livingroom where Sara was watching the TV full  
  
blast. "Sara, can you lower that?" I asked, annoyed, while passing  
  
through to get to the door in the next room. I walked into the next  
  
room and saw Jordan there with Tobias?   
  
"Hey Rachel," he said, grinning his sweet smile.   
  
"Tobias, hi! What are you doing here?" I said, hugging him. He  
  
looked kind of surprised when I hugged him, but hugged me back.  
  
Jordan made gagging noises. I looked at her. "Don't you have  
  
somewhere to be?" I asked her, waving her away.   
  
"No," she said flatly, not moving. Then Sara came out.   
  
"Who's he?" Sara demanded, pointing to Tobias rudely.   
  
"I'm Tobias," Tobias said, smiling.   
  
"Oh. Are you Rachel's boyfriend?" Sara asked. Jordan giggled and  
  
Tobias blushed. Stupid sisters, I thought. They are soooo annoying!   
  
"That's it, out! Go watch some more TV! Ba-bye! Go!" I shooed  
  
them away. They reluctantly left and I turned back to Tobias.  
  
"Sorry," I said, embarrassed.   
  
"It's okay. I just wanted to know uh if you um wanted to go  
  
for a, ah, walk," Tobias stuttered, still as red as a tomato. I smiled.   
  
"Sure, hold on." I walked into the livingroom and told Jordan and  
  
Sara I was going for a walk and would be back soon. They just  
  
nodded, their eyes glued to the TV, in a trance. I rolled my eyes  
  
and grabbed my Spring jacket. Then I walked back to the door  
  
where Tobias was waiting. "Let's go," I said, taking his hand.   
  
As soon as I shut the door to my house and we started walking, I  
  
asked him what the real reason was that he came over to my house.  
  
He looked down. "I don't know I'm not really sure. I mean, I  
  
have no idea," he said. He looked back up at me with his dreamy  
  
eyes.   
  
I smiled. "Well, I'm glad you did."   
  
"Yeah, me too. So uh, what were you doing in your room?" he  
  
asked.   
  
"Geography homework," I groaned.   
  
Tobias laughed. "Don't worry, it's almost summer vacation. You  
  
know, I always looked forward to the last day of school. I guess all  
  
kids do," he said. I could see the pain in his eyes. I squeezed his  
  
hand.   
  
"Well, you are human, Tobias. And no matter how long you stay in  
  
your hawk morph, you'll still always be human. Don't ever forget  
  
that, Tobias," I said with a sudden passion.   
  
Tobias nodded. "Thanks, Rachel," he said.   
  
I smiled and kissed him softly on the lips. He grinned after, which  
  
made me laugh. "I should be getting home," I said.   
  
He looked down. "Yeah, I guess."   
  
"Before my sisters kill each other."   
  
He laughed now. We started walking to my house. "Maybe I'll stop  
  
by later to visit you," he said when we reached my house.   
  
"I'd like that," I said, smiling. We leaned in close and kissed again  
  
and heard, "Ewwww!!" from inside. I turned around to the source  
  
of the noise and found out my annoying sisters were looking out  
  
the window. "Jordan! Sara!" I yelled angrily. They giggled and ran  
  
away into the livingroom. I looked back at Tobias and sighed.  
  
"Sorry again," I whispered.   
  
He smiled. "It's okay, not a big deal. I've gotta demorph now.  
  
Bye," he said, turning to walk away.   
  
"Okay, bye," I said kissing him again. He left and I opened the  
  
door to my house, walked in, and shut it again. My sisters were  
  
there, grinning innocently. "I'm gonna kill you guys," I said, mad.  
  
They turned and ran upstairs giggling. I sighed again and threw  
  
myself onto the couch, flipping on the TV. I surfed through the  
  
channels, nothing was on at all. I left it on one of those stupid  
  
channels where they try to sell you useless things for lots of money  
  
and closed my eyes.   
  
I must have dosed off for awhile because the next thing I remember  
  
was mom shaking me to wake up. She must have just walked in  
  
because when I opened my eyes I realized she still had her jacket  
  
on. "Hi honey. Where are your sisters?" she asked.   
  
"Upstairs, I think," I said groggily. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.   
  
Just then Jordan and Sara came down. "Hi, mommy, guess what  
  
we saw!" Sara said excitedly.   
  
Mom smiled and walked over to them. "What?" she asked.   
  
"We saw Rachel kissing some boy!" Jordan exclaimed. Mom  
  
turned to look at me, her eyebrows raised. I flushed. I wanted to dig  
  
a hole and bury myself. "Really?" asked mom, still looking at me.  
  
"What boy?" she asked Jordan and Sara.   
  
"I don't know him, but he was cute!" Sara said, grinning.   
  
"Yeah. Except he needed to brush his hair," Jordan agreed.   
  
"What boy, Rachel?" mom asked calmly.   
  
"Tobias," I said slowly, still flushed.   
  
"Tobias? What kind of name is that?" Jordan exclaimed.   
  
"I wouldn't be talking, your name is Jordan!" I shot back angrily.   
  
"Girls, stop it. Rachel? I'd like to have a word with you in the  
  
kitchen," mom said sternly, heading towards the kitchen. I sighed  
  
and muttered something under my breath.   
  
We both walked into the kitchen and mom shut the door. "Rachel,  
  
honey, I'm not mad, it's just that well I don't even know this  
  
boy " mom started.   
  
"Tobias is very sweet," I interrupted in defense.   
  
"I'm sure he is. But " mom got interrupted again. This time it  
  
wasn't by me, but by the doorbell. "That must be your father," she  
  
said, walking out of the kitchen to the door. I followed her.   
  
"Dad? Why?" I asked curiously.   
  
"You'll see," she said simply. Now I was confused.   
  
"Daddy!" Sara had already opened the door.   
  
"Hi, kiddo!" he said scooping her up in his arms. "Woah, you're  
  
getting big!" he said, putting her back down. Then he hugged me  
  
and Jordan. "Ah, my girls are getting more and more beautiful  
  
every day!" he said, looking at us.   
  
Sara and I look more like him, with blond hair and blue eyes, while  
  
Jordan looks like mom with brown hair and dark eyes. He looked  
  
up at mom. "Hello," he said to her with a fake smile.   
  
"Hello," she replied, her smile just as fake.   
  
Jordan also must have noticed this. "Why are you here, dad?" she  
  
asked.   
  
"I have big news for you girls," he said.   
  
"What? What?" Sara asked, hyper.   
  
Dad laughed. "Sit down and I'll tell you," he said. We sat down on  
  
the couch. "Okay. Your mother and I have decided that we both  
  
want to see you. I want to see you more often, though, too. You  
  
know I don't get to because I live so far away from here," he said.   
  
"Yeah, so ?" I asked impatiently.   
  
"So, we've decided that we will split the time evenly. I'll have you  
  
for six months, and your mother will have you for six months," he  
  
said, waiting for our reaction.   
  
Sara leaped onto him. "Yeah!" she screamed, excited. Jordan I just  
  
stared at him and mom, open-mouthed.   
  
"What?" I finally blurted out.   
  
"But what about school?" Jordan asked.   
  
"And our friends?" I asked.   
  
"It's okay, we've settled that. Where I live there is an elementary  
  
school, a middle school, and a high school right down the street.  
  
We've already signed all three of you up for them," he said. I just  
  
kept staring at him in awe.   
  
"You mean we don't get a choice?" Jordan asked.   
  
Dad shook his head. "Sorry, kiddo. But I know you'll love it there.  
  
It's warm out all year round," he said.   
  
I didn't know what to say. I had millions of things running through  
  
my head. School .Animorphs Tobias ? I wanted to scream out  
  
angrily. I wanted to break down and cry. I even wanted to start  
  
having a laughing fit like an insane person in a mental institution.   
  
"It'll start on Saturday, all right? So get packed," he said grinning.  
  
He hugged as again. "Oh, it'll be nice to be with my girls again,"  
  
he went on.   
  
I just smiled weakly. "Sounds great, dad," I finally said,  
  
half-heartedly.   
  
"Yeah, it will," dad said, still beaming. "Well, I better be going,  
  
I'm supposed to be on a business trip. I'm leaving on Saturday and  
  
I'll take you kids with me, all right? So be ready early!" he said,  
  
rushing out the door. "Bye!" he called.   
  
"Bye," we replied.   
  
I couldn't believe it. I lied on my bed, crying. All of the sudden I  
  
heard the flutter of wings as Tobias flew through the window.   
  
*Hey, Rachel Rachel?* he asked in thought-speak. He must have  
  
noticed me crying. He morphed human and sat down next to me,  
  
putting his arm over my shoulder. "What's the matter Rachel?" he  
  
asked softly.   
  
"Oh, Tobias, it's awful awful " I said between sobs.   
  
"What is?" he asked. "I'm I'm moving for six months," I said  
  
in a rush.   
  
"Moving?! Wh-where?" he asked, trying to stay calm.   
  
"My father's place," I said. "Your father's there?! But that's "  
  
he started.   
  
I nodded and wiped a few tears off my face. It's kinda funny  
  
because here I am all upset and I'm thinking about how gross I  
  
must look with my makeup running down my face!   
  
"When?" he asked.   
  
"Sa-Saturday!" I broke down in sobs again.   
  
"Shh, it's okay, Rachel, it's okay," he said, trying to comfort me. I  
  
put my head on his shoulder.   
  
"It's not fair," I said, starting to sob less. "I don't even get to  
  
choose. It's not fair."   
  
"Rach, the Animorphs and I can always visit you," he said, moving  
  
my hair off my face.   
  
"But it's so far away!" I exclaimed.   
  
"No, no, it's not," he cooed softly, "We can morph birds,  
  
remember?"   
  
I nodded and started to feel a little better. "Will you miss me?" I  
  
asked, looking at him.   
  
He grinned sadly. "Beyond belief." I smiled and he kissed me.   
  
"Rachel! Rachel, can you come here for a minute!" I heard my  
  
mom yell from downstairs. Tobias and I broke apart.   
  
"I'll see you tomorrow," I said.   
  
"Okay, good night, Rach," he said, getting up.   
  
"Good night. And Tobias? Thanks," I said, hugging him. He  
  
winked at me and demorphed. Then he flew out the window and I  
  
walked downstairs.   
  
The next day, mom let us skip school so we could have more time  
  
to pack. She handed us each about ten giant bins. I sighed and went  
  
up to my room. I flipped on my radio and started packing.   
  
I could hear my sisters fighting in the hall. "No, Sara, that green  
  
bin, is mine! You have all the pink ones, Rachel has all the blue  
  
ones, and I have all the green ones! So give it back!"   
  
"No!! This one's mine! Mommy!!!"   
  
"Tattletale,"   
  
"Bin stealer,"   
  
"Reject,"   
  
"Moron,"   
  
"Idiot,"   
  
"Jerk,"   
  
.And so on. I sighed again and turned my radio up louder. Then  
  
it got on my nerves and I shut it off. Then I got cold and shut the  
  
window. Then I got hot and opened it. Man, what was wrong with  
  
me??   
  
After many hours of packing I heard the phone ring and then Sara  
  
yell, "Rachel!!! It's for you!!!"   
  
I ran downstairs and got it. "Rachel? It's Jake. I heard what's going  
  
on. Sorry um I mean "   
  
"It's okay, Jake, I know. I want to get a chance to say goodbye to  
  
all of you. Maybe we can meet someplace?" I asked.   
  
"Sure, how about in the barn at let's see seven?" he suggested.   
  
"Great, I'll be there, see ya," I said.   
  
"Bye," he said and hung up. I put the phone down and stared out  
  
into empty space.   
  
At about 6:30, I finally finished packing. And just on time, too,  
  
because I had to start walking to Cassie's barn. "Mom, I'm going  
  
to say goodbye to my friends, okay?" I yelled to my mom, putting  
  
on my jacket.   
  
"Sure, honey, go ahead!" she yelled back. I walked out the door,  
  
outside. The sun was just starting to go down and there was a soft  
  
breeze. I thought about moving as I walked and pretty soon I was  
  
there. Time flies when you're thinking about something you dread,  
  
huh? I walked into the barn, where everybody already was.   
  
"Surprise!" they yelled when I walked in. They were all there, with  
  
a few balloons and crepe paper and a cake. I laughed, surprised.   
  
"Happy uh leaving, Xena!" Marco said. I laughed again.  
  
Everyone suddenly grew silent.   
  
"I'm gonna miss you guys," I said, my eyes filling up.   
  
Cassie came and put her arm around me. She was starting to cry,  
  
too. "I'll call you all the time," she said.   
  
I smiled. "You better," I said.   
  
"Okay, okay. Enough sappy stuff. We want cake!" insensitive  
  
Marco cried. We all laughed and had some cake. Pretty soon it was  
  
time for me to go.   
  
"I have to get up very early tomorrow," I said. Jake nodded. It was  
  
time for me to say goodbye. I stepped in front of Jake first. "Bye,  
  
couz," I said. I hugged him tightly.   
  
"Bye, Rach. We'll probably see eachother a lot," he said. I looked  
  
at him and he smiled and nodded.   
  
Then I walked over to Ax who was in human morph. "Bye, Ax," I  
  
hugged him, too.   
  
"Goodbye, Rachel. Achel. Chel," he said, playing with his words  
  
like always. I laughed and let go.   
  
Then I turned to Marco. "Bye, pain-in-the-butt," I said, hugging  
  
him. Everybody laughed, including him.   
  
"Ooh, Xena strikes me again with yet another spear," he said. Then  
  
he whispered in my ear. "Keep fighting, Xena." I smiled.   
  
Then I turned to Cassie, who was crying. "Don't worry, Cass, I'll  
  
be back," I said, hugging her.   
  
"Yeah, I know," she said softly. "And I'll write and call all the  
  
time," I said. "Promise."   
  
Cassie looked at me and nodded. "You go girl," she said. I  
  
laughed.   
  
Then I turned to Tobias, who was looking down at the ground. He  
  
looked up at me and didn't say anything. I kissed him. Long and  
  
hard on the lips. We finally pulled away, gasping for breath.  
  
"Wow," he commented softly. I giggled and hugged him. He  
  
hugged me back like he never wanted to let me go. "I'll miss you,  
  
Rachel," he whispered to me.   
  
"Me too," I said. We separated and looked at each other.   
  
"I love you," he said.   
  
"I love you too, Tobias," I said. I walked away slowly and then  
  
turned back to my friends, the Animorphs. They all looked at me  
  
sadly, Jake trying to comfort the crying Cassie. Then I turned back  
  
around and walked away. 


End file.
